The PlayStation Vita combines powerful hardware with a good price, but Sony …

Share this story

The gaming press was pleasantly shocked when Sony announced the $250 price point for the entry-level, WiFi-only PlayStation Vita at this year's E3. What was expected to be a high-quality but expensive gaming system suddenly became a possible contender for the portable console crown worn by Nintendo, especially with its weakened position due to the slow adoption of the 3DS. Unfortunately, the system's US and European launch has been set for 2012, after the crucial holiday season.

The Associated Press reports that Sony Corp. Executive Deputy President Kazuo Hirai confirmed the lack of a 2011 launch for the US and Europe, and didn't give specific dates for the Japanese launch. The holiday shopping frenzy is, of course, a major selling time for video games and hardware, and would help give Sony's portable a welcome boost in sales momentum. Sony also stated that the 3DS's lowered price won't change their strategy with the Vita.

"We packed so much into the device and made it very affordable," Hirai stated. "There is no need to lower the price just because somebody else that happens to be in the video game business decided that they were going to lower their price."

The Vita should find itself in a good position: the hardware is powerful and fun to play, the games are strong, and the price is surprisingly reasonable for the power and features. Without a set release date announced previously this isn't exactly a delay, but it's certainly not good news.

Share this story

48 Reader Comments

If it's between a delayed console release, or an on-time release with very little software, the delay is the preferable option. Hopefully they can get a solid line-up of titles to go with the hardware.

I really wanted this thing in November sometime. It probably had something to do with either the games won't be ready, or they have too many games coming out in that timeframe. I think Uncharted 3 is coming out in November and Resistance 3 and Ratchet and Clank are coming out too a little earlier, so maybe they didn't want to have all those games coming out to compete with the PS Vita and its games.

I don't know that it will matter; portable gaming consoles have been on the decline for a while. There are some good games on them, but even Nintendo is faltering with the 3DS (I don't believe that its poor sales are due to the high price; rather to the erosion of its market by mobile phones and mobile-sized tablets.)

Mobile has its own problems; the control isn't as good and the pricing model is fucked, but I don't know those advantages are going to be enough to keep a critical mass of people buying games on portable consoles. If there's no critical mass, it's not profitable to keep making games, which leads to the death spiral of the market.

I think Nintendo got caught unaware with the 3DS. Sales had to have been abysmal for them to drop the price as much as they did; but I also think smartphone games are "good enough" for 50% of people who may have bought one of the original DS systems. Again, less people means less games, and death spiral ensues.

I'm looking forward to the Vita but I honestly can't see it as anything but a total commercial flop waiting to happen. The PSP was never successful to begin with, and with Apple having totally murdered the market for dedicated handheld gaming devices, it can only go worse from there. People like me who hate smartphone gaming are too few in numbers to make a relevant difference.

It's pretty much guaranteed to successful in Japan though, the Japanese love their PSPs so goddamn much. What remains to be seen is whether or not the Vita will be compelling enough for them to spend the 25000 yen or so to upgrade.

Gaming on mobile phones has progressed to the point where a dedicated device seems like a pretty lousy value. Nintendo has been learning this the hard way with the 3DS. The games being significantly cheaper on mobile phones not helping them either.

I think the 3DS is prime example of how interested people are in handheld gaming devices. If Nintendo, the darling of the mainstream market, couldn't manage to sell their device to the point of having to cut price $80 after a few months, what chance does the Vita have? Not only that, but missing that holiday market is a huge blow. That's the time people have the money to spend on items like that. People want their all in one devices, which right now, is their iPhone or similar device.

The only people I know of that still care about dedicated portable gaming consoles are...the gaming press. Anyone at or above the age of 16 (or less!) will just make due with a mobile phone of some kind. The DSi seemed to sell OK (I think?), so maybe the market is still big enough for some sort of success, but I think the money train has moved on - phones are the new consoles.

I still remember when I mowed lawns all summer to scrape together the $90 I needed to buy a Gameboy. It was tough, but doable as a 13 year old. I also remember how the Lynx and Game Gear came out a the same time, and looked awesome in the displays but were well out of my price range.

These days it seems like every handheld is a Lynx or a Game Gear. The only thing affordable is the last generation stuff.

Gaming on mobile phones has progressed to the point where a dedicated device seems like a pretty lousy value. Nintendo has been learning this the hard way with the 3DS. The games being significantly cheaper on mobile phones not helping them either.

The only people I know of that still care about dedicated portable gaming consoles are...the gaming press. Anyone at or above the age of 16 (or less!) will just make due with a mobile phone of some kind. The DSi seemed to sell OK (I think?), so maybe the market is still big enough for some sort of success, but I think the money train has moved on - phones are the new consoles.

I'll take my DS fat or PSP over a smart phone for gaming. I don't use my portables much anymore because when I am home I tend to use the 360 and Wii, and when I commute 99% I am doing the driving.

Aw well... I'm just planning to pick up a PSP when it drops below 100. I wasn't getting this at launch anyway... I would like to eventually though. Not quite on topic but - I wonder if Sony will come out with an updated 3G version that can be used as a simple phone on Verizon's network. Or if they might release an app of some sort that allows for basic phone functionality over Verizon for all 3G versions (after signing up for a Verizon plan). I would jump on that sooner.

It's like deja vu all over again. What was expected to be a high-quality but expensive gaming system and successor to the portable console crown worn by the DS, had its launch delayed into the next year also. Nintendo then bet on 3rd party efforts carrying the system, which didn't pay off. My guess is that if customers show up for Nintendo's 1st party efforts come Christmas time, they'll show up for Sony's 1st party efforts once the Vita is released. If not, it'll be a bad sign for the portable industry as a whole.

I think what has hurt the 3DS is not mobile phone gaming but is instead mostly its (still!) atrocious software selection- if delaying the launch of the Vita will lead to having more games out, it's probably worth it.

The only people I know of that still care about dedicated portable gaming consoles are...the gaming press. Anyone at or above the age of 16 (or less!) will just make due with a mobile phone of some kind. The DSi seemed to sell OK (I think?), so maybe the market is still big enough for some sort of success, but I think the money train has moved on - phones are the new consoles.

The Vita seems like a direct attempt to provide a real alternative to phone gaming -- it's more powerful, and specifically designed to provide a gaming experience that a phone won't be able to match for people who care about that.

And the notion that people only want one mobile device seems transparently false -- the iPad would seem to be the paradigmatic example of something you wouldn't bother carrying around if all you want is a smartphone, and those are selling like crazy. So why is the Vita obviously not suitable?

I hope they change the location of the left analog stick. It looks extremely uncomfortable to have it in nearly the same position as the PSP's much-aligned analog nub. Why don't they switch the D-Pad and analog stick? It's not like we're going to be using the D-Pad much at all. The analog stick should be the primary control method.

Also all these idiots on this thread projecting doom and gloom for handhelds make me facepalm. I'm fairly certain none of them even have handheld consoles. Do you honestly believe gamers are satisfied with playing Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja when they have lengthy downtime?

It's surreal how this has become the opposite argument of the console vs. PC "debate", where multifunctional PC's are predicted year after year to be doomed by the simplicity of gaming consoles.

The only thing smartphones address is the extremely casual audience that would never play games in the first place. Gaming handhelds can expand their functionality and game library to target "casual gamers" the same way the Wii and DS have done. A handheld as powerful as the Vita can also function as a multi-functional device with web browsing and media capabilities. (also if it's hacked the possibilities are endless).

And the notion that people only want one mobile device seems transparently false -- the iPad would seem to be the paradigmatic example of something you wouldn't bother carrying around if all you want is a smartphone, and those are selling like crazy.

I think the iPad is more of a laptop/netbook replacement, not in the same league of smartphones/portable gaming devices.

At Walmart, Nintendo DS Lite is $100, DSi is $150, DSi XL is $170. The 3DS was $250. If you're buying one for your kid (as the majority of these are) and you're worried the kid will get tired of it or bust it, which one are you going to get?The Wii is only $135. You could get a Wii and a DS Lite for less than the 3DS was. I think that Nintendo having to lower the price of the 3DS was probably more due to price competition from their other products, not the death of portable gaming.

The PSP Vita blows all of Nintendos portables, and the Wii, out of the water, and will rival the consoles in capability. I think it's another beast entirely. I'll probably have to get it and the Uncharted, Resistance, and inevitably Killzone games.

I know almost everyone (myself included) considers the PSP to be a commercial (and critical) failure...

But the numbers seem to disagree.

The iPod Touch (which I don't think anyone would consider a failure) across all it's incarnations has sold 60 million units.

The PSP has sold 67 million units.

As a software developer or publisher, which is a more interesting market to you? Selling $.99 games, or $20-40 games?

I'm not expecting a huge response to the Vita, whether or not it's got great technical specs and good developer support. But just blindly saying "PSP sucked, Vita is going to suck even more" is pretty weak sauce.

And yes, for the sake of my argument, I did exclude iPhones which is more or less the same platform. Still, the iPod Touch is an entity onto itself and one that is generally considered to be massively successful

I know almost everyone (myself included) considers the PSP to be a commercial (and critical) failure...

But the numbers seem to disagree.

The iPod Touch (which I don't think anyone would consider a failure) across all it's incarnations has sold 60 million units.

The PSP has sold 67 million units.

successful

Uh... then your opinion of the PSP being a "commercial failure" is not warranted. Where the PSP failed was the PSPGo, which Sony woefully failed to support. But in Japan the PSP is still extremely popular, having outsold the Nintendo DS year after year. This is why I'm surprised Sony is releasing the Vita in Japan first. There's no reason to when the PSP is selling so well but struggling in the US and Europe. I can only see it as silly nationalistic favoritism.

That Sucks, I was looking foward to it. As a pc gamer Ive not been interested in the consoles lately but I am interested in the portables. Heck, I love my go, especially since theyre hackable now and you can play any game you want now.

It makes sense for them to concentrate on the Japanese region first, because that was the strongest region for the PSP. Get a Monster Hunter or similar on there and the thing will fly off the shelves. The country is already very positive toward it with a lot of gamers intending to buy one, according to magazine surveys.

Meanwhile launching in the US and Europe without a solid lineup of western-style games is going to be critical, and if a few month's delay means that they can release a properly polished Uncharted then it'll be worth it. I don't see why there's a perception that a system must launch for the Christmas period either - that would mean that the new system would have to compete against behemoth games like Call of Duty for coverage in the western gaming media...

I haven't seen any clear sign, that dedicated portable gaming is suffering too badly, yet. There hasn't been anything, that would feel necessary to buy since the fat models of PSP and DS. 3DS I can't consider a new generation console, it's a version of DS like lite and DSi and are, and I would guess most people think so too, who contemplated whether to buy it or not. It hasn't helped, that there have been studies of eye-strain and there aren't many games available for it. I can't consider it a competitor for the Vita. Was that what Nintendo really planned? I think the semi-portable part of their Wii U is also partly competing with Vita.

Vita is the first, that offers something, that is actually worth moving to from the original last/this generation consoles. We can worry about dedicated portable gaming, if Vita fails (which PSP did not btw).

- This is an ARM device, it fits in with Sony's mobile gaming strategy as it will be compatible with the PS Suite. As such, it's more of a convergence device than appears on the surface, don't be surprised to see 'cross fertilisation' games between Android devices and this thing.

Compared to the iPhone, it's a lot cheaper, will have better games and better controls. Many of the target market will already have a smart phone anyway.

A lot of people won't buy this for mobile capabilities, but to play PS3-quality games around the house / on the bog / in bed / while the other half is watching X factor, plus any other PS3 interface tricks (Wii U?) that Sony can pull off.

Launching in Japan first in late 2011 is a smart move as it will create an instant user base, guaranteeing some third party buy in.

Launching in the rest of the world later (2012) is also a smart move as they avoid going up against MW3, BF3 and Uncharted 3 (for PS3 owners). That's £120/£180 that most of the hardcore audience will almost certainly spend.

I think this will fly, but I also wouldn't be surprised if it's the last of its kind. The trend towards convergence is becoming too strong.

One theory is phone gaming will pull people away the Vita and DS, which will be true for some. Another factor is that phone gaming has drastically expanded the market of people that enjoy playing mobile, small experience games. The Vita isn't trying to replace the phone, it is saying, "hey, you like playing games on your phone? Try this when you are ready to play a better mobile game experience."

I expect the Vita to have a great range of games for everyone. Playstation Suite will offer the "phone type" games, PSN will have the slightly deeper $5-$15 games and retail will have the $30-$-40 semi-console experiences.

I won't carry the Vita with me everywhere, but I see myself using it (1) on the couch while my wife watches TV (2) at work during lunch (3) trips. Good enough for me.